Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

Boxing Worlds: Narender, Govind, Deepak impress; Shiva Thapa crashes out

Last updated on: May 04, 2023 22:00 IST

Narender Berwal

IMAGE: Narender Berwal landed powerful punches and dodged Abroridinov’s attacks to clinch the victory by 4-1.

Ace Indian boxer Shiva Thapa made a shocking exit from the Men's World Championships even as two other pugilists advanced to the pre-quarter finals in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Thursday.

Shiva (63.5kg), the 2015 bronze medallist who had received a bye in the first round, went down fighting 3-4 to Dos Reis Yuri of Brazil, with the final decision been announced after a bout review. 

Shiva, who was seeded second, did well to recover from his sluggish start that cost him the first round 1-4.

Narender Berwal (+92kg), and Govind Sahani (48kg) advanced to the pre-quarterfinals while promising pugilist Deepak Kumar (51kg), who is competing in Amit Panghal's weight class, also progressed to the Round of 32.

 

Narender, who finished in the quarter-finals at the previous World Championships, started his campaign by defeating Muhammad Abroridinov of Tajikistan in a closely contested bout. Despite a stern fight put up by his opponent, Narender landed powerful punches and dodged Abroridinov’s attacks to clinch the victory by 4-1. He will now face Fernando Arzola of Cuba in the quarter-finals.

In other matches, Govind and Deepak both secured identical victories. Govind defeated Mehron Shafiev of Tajikistan, while Deepak ousted Luis Delgado of Ecuador with his technical ability.

Govind Sahani

IMAGE: Govind Sahani defeated Mehron Shafiev of Tajikistan.

Govind will face the top-seeded Sakhil Alakhverdovi of Georgia in the pre-quarters, while Deepak will take on Saken Bibossinov of Kazakhstan. 

Mohammad Hussamuddin, Ashish Chaudhary, and Naveen Kumar will all compete in pre-quarters on Friday against Lyu Ping of China, Arlen Lopez of Cuba, and Jeong Jae-min of South Korea, respectively.

The tournament features 538 boxers from 107 countries, including several Olympic medallists.

Rediff Sports